Missing Girl’s Body Found in River After She Entered Water with Young Boy: ‘A Community in Grief’

A missing girl’s body was found this weekend in the River Thames in England after she entered the water with a young boy the day prior, authorities said.

Around 1:46 p.m. local time on Friday, May 30, Kent police were alerted by the Port of London Authority that there were concerns about the welfare of two children who had gone in the river via Royal Pier Road, police said in a news release.

The boy, who remains in the hospital, was retrieved from the water after patrols, H.M. Coastguard, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and the South East Coast Ambulance Service rushed to the scene.

That night, the search for the missing girl was suspended but Kent police’s Marine Unit and H.M. Coastguard continued on Saturday, May 31.

Authorities then recovered the girl’s body from the river near Gravesend around 11:40 a.m. that day, with assistance from the RNLI.

The child’s death “is not being treated as suspicious at this stage and a report will be prepared for the coroner,” Kent police said.

The girl was 9 years old while the boy is 7, local media outlet Kent Online reported.

The outlet added that the pair are thought to be cousins and at the time of the incident were playing near the water when the girl slipped.

A spokesperson for the nearby Gravesend Rowing Club said a man used a life ring to swim out and retrieve the boy but was unable to help the girl as he lost sight of her, according to Kent Online.

The boy is now at a local hospital in “stable condition,” according to Kent police.

Local politician Lauren Sullivan shared her “deepest condolences” on Facebook following the incident.

“I am deeply saddened to hear that a body has been recovered in the search for the girl who went missing in the River Thames in Gravesend yesterday,” she wrote. “I would like to thank emergency services, including the coastguard, Kent Police, the RNLI, and PLA many others for their efforts in the search.”

“I know there are many opinions circulating at this time about the circumstances surrounding this tragic event and from speaking to the authorities it is right that there is an investigation, as with all sad circumstances such as these, but at the heart of this is a family and community in grief which I hope everyone can respect,” she added. “I send my deepest condolences to the family and friends of the child, and keep them all in my thoughts at this time.”

PEOPLE has reached out to Kent Police and Gravesend Rowing Club for further information.

The recovery of the girl’s body comes weeks after a body found in the River Thames in April was identified as missing 11-year-old girl Kaliyah Coa